Old ways won't open new doors!!

All my life i have heard this one saying repeated like an old cassette player stuck " When one door closes, another one opens". We have been consoling ourselves for any loss which occurs let it be at work or in our personal life. Some time back i heard someone saying something which caught my attention " When life shuts a door, open it again. Its a door, thats how it works"
I was surprised a 20 year old saying this to her friend as an advise. We have evolved and definitely the way we deal in our daily life also has changed.
But then i am talking about the tech savvy generation, people born after the technology boom, which has taken life head long and for them there is nothing known as giving up on a dream or letting go of what they want. They are focussed, they are there own role models and they are fiercely independent knowing what they want from life. The stereo type job is not what they want. They want perfect balance between work and personal life.
We at work are also dealing with the same generation. At times one can really see the gap which is increasing at an alarming rate between the generations. I had one on my managers few years back teach me how to use Whatsapp. I had no clue about a double click and it turning blue which meant the person had read my message. Now thanks to my manager i know how to use Whatsapp or any another application like a pro.
New ideas, new thinking is what makes us move ahead. All of us everyday cannot come up with new ideas, we need young people with open minds to interact and come up with ideas. I personally believe when an idea is wacky or crazy and in current situation one feels its impossible, thats the one which needs to be followed. What is obstinate does not matter, what is different and challenging will be the future. Many of our ways in handling business is becoming obstinate , its like some people are working in dinosaur era and struggling to be with the times.
I have seen myself change with times, being in client service and marketing all my life, if i look back there is a huge change in my thinking over the years. Age, years of experience is no criteria for a good concept or idea. Its always about how passionate one is about work which defines great than good or okay job done. Guess as we grow older, either we become complacent or we create this ideology of i know all. Life is about learning and the learning keeps us young and with the current trends.
There was a time as any client service person, i would say " customer is always right" but with changing trends i now say, " Customer is not always right, but give the customer due credit and with respect and diplomacy make the customer understand your point of view and the option which you are suggesting". It has worked and a good customer will always respect your point of view and be there with you. I have had pleasure to work with some amazing people. They were my clients, who with time became friends , some become my mentors and its been good 28 years of working.
An open mind will always attract new ideas and avenues, but if we stick to old ways of customer is king, is always right is there any learning or new ideas which the teams ever implement? Innovation is the key word for today's clients. The company which can come up with great ideas and new technology is the king in eyes of the customer. How many of us try this route?
Its all in our thinking, past 16 years i have been working as strategic partner with all my clients, never as an agency. This approach i know has worked for many, these teams know how to handle their clients with respect, yet put their point of view.
Maybe its time to Unthink for us to start making an impact in this new tech savvy flat world where information is the key and within 30 seconds what's happening in one part of the world is known to the world. Reacting on half baked information is more like conspiracy theory than getting all facts clear and then strategicing the way ahead.
In the end, It all depends upon our own transformation from old to new ways.

We are always one decision away from a totally different life.

Tell me a Good Lie

Tell me a Good Lie

Ask no questions, and you will be told No Lies !!

Ever wondered, why people say little white lies? Its not that intent is bad of these people. But sometimes when the boundaries are crossed by others and questions after questions seem to the conversation route, many people resort to white lies.

Some say if a lie can save someone's feelings being hurt is not a lie. A classic example is when you greet friends , we always say , Hey you are looking awesome. Or You have lost so much weight etc etc. If an outsider looks at this conversation and the person getting compliments is not to be complemented with such comments will shake their head at the lie being told. But the achievement of getting someone's confidence up and getting a smile on the person's face is worth many such white lies. Even friends have boundaries and many times we adhere to these comments as the truth will only disrupt the relation.
Its weird but such is the make believe world we have all created and white lies have become the way of life.

We have somehow distant ourselves from the reality, everyone has a bubble of fantasy around their life and that has become our reality. We choose everything other than our parents in today's world. From finding networked friends, to succesful spouse, preferred list of companies to work with and do business with, to even get oneself designer babies and where one should live etc etc.

Has the white lies taken over our life indefinitely ? Seems to me that the new definition of Truth is what we want it to be not what it is.

Cosmetic surgeons are having a field day, as one is not happy with the facial features one is born with, or the body needs to be shaped as per one's liking. Every day looking in the mirror and appreciating the surgeons's creation is the truth for that person.
Our sexual orientation is such that my success depends on who i say to be. LGBT is fighting a battle to be recognised but then many closet gays don't ever want to own. But then why does anyone care about who one loves? Will the person be less a friend, or less a son or daughter or less a professional at work?

So what is the definition of truth? I fail to understand. I say what i have to say, if one does not like it too bad, but then with my family, friends and colleagues i choose my words as i don't want to hurt their feelings. We all in the end create our own definition of truth or lie. A truth if it can destroy someone's world is worst than a lie which can save someone. 

But then there are certain boundaries which one cannot cross, respecting others and being honest to people is far more rewarding than creating illusion of love and care. 

In marriage trust is what keeps the relationship alive. If one partner is cheating, then the partner should tell the spouse about this. Its not about hurting the other one but giving respect to the spouse and letting the partner decide whether they want to be in relationship with the person anymore. This goes for all relationships. But the classic and most common one is, if a person is a bad dresser and friends keep encouraging the person by giving compliments , it's only hurting the person in the long run. Its not that one should care about what people say, but then a joker can never be a leader. A joker is to laugh at. That's what it is.

Maybe if we own what we say, if we choose lie over truth, if we believe in lie as truth will destroy us, if we believe that we cannot be honest or say our feelings to someone, if we believe that life is good with our white lies then so be it.
What ever we believe in , is what we become. As long as we have the strength to live the lie, guess that will become oneway our truth.

As the saying goes, "Truth will set you free".